The Charge

A Force to be Reckoned With

Opening Statement

There's got to be an easier way to prove someone is corrupt than by arranging
a full-on alien invasion—easier sure, but not nearly as cool. It's tense.
It's smart. It's complicated. It's Mission: Impossible: The Sixth
Season.

Facts of the Case

Jim Phelps (Peter Graves, Airplane!) is back with a leaner IMF
dream team. Paris (Leonard Nimoy) is gone and there's no replacement
sleight-of-hand man. Dana (Leslie Ann Warren) is also gone and in her place is
the sweet, soft-spoken Casey (Lynda Day George, Roots). Barney Collier
(Greg Morris) and Willie Armitage (Peter Lupus) are still on board, and with the
exception of a short pregnancy leave for George in season seven, this is the
crew that takes us on to the finish.

Straying even further away from the politically charged international
missions of the earlier seasons, Season Six is mostly about "the
syndicate," aka, organized crime. There's also a nod to bio-terrorism, a
treasure hunt for stolen diamonds, and a ski resort cable car caper all artfully
acted by some of the best TV guest stars of the era.

The Evidence

I've been a Mission: Impossible fan for as long as I can remember, and
this season in particular is the one that really stands out in my mind. One
reason is because of the addition of Lynda Day George. Lynda appeared in nearly
a hundred different TV shows and TV movies from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, but
she rarely took on regular roles like this one. Lynda was married to actor
Christopher George and they often worked together, including an episode in this
season of Mission: Impossible. She stopped acting shortly after Chris
died of a heart attack at the age of 54.

As Casey, Lynda brought an intriguing combination of innocent girl next door
and Hollywood glamour. When she wasn't playing someone's frightened girlfriend,
she handled the masks and make-up, mimicked voices, and she had fabulous hair.
Yeah, I have a girl crush on Lynda Day George. I don't attempt to hide it.

I also have a crush on Sam Elliott. He makes his last appearance as Doctor
Doug in the second episode, "Encore." I always wished they had used
him more; alas, it was not to be.

Moving on to the second reason this season is so memorable—it's the
guest stars. Half a dozen of my favorites show up here appearing in stories that
I remember to this day. Top of the list? William Shatner in "Encore,"
Jack Cassidy in "Casino," and Christopher George (sensing a theme
here?) in "Nerves."

Here's a quick look at all of the episodes on this DVD set.

Disc One • "Blind"—Sadly, a complex,
slow-moving episode starts the season. Phelps is surgically blinded in a
difficult-to-follow story about protecting the cover of a government agent
working for the mob. Tom Bosley guests.

• "Encore"—William Shatner is the mark in what is
one of the most talked about episodes of the series that has the IMF team
sending the mobster back to 1937 (complete with de-aging make-up) in hopes of
getting to the bottom of an unsolved murder.

• "The Tram"—The story on this one isn't the
best. Mostly it was an excuse to use the Palm Springs Mountain Tram over and
over in the story. Nice scenery, but not such a winner other wise.

Disc Two • "Shape-Up"—Gerald S
O'Laughlin is the mark in this story that uses a fake haunting in order to get
the mark to confess to murder. Love the moment when this one comes together.

• "The Miracle"—This one has Joe Don Baker as a
flamboyant hitman who just isn't himself after a fake heart transplant. Billy
Dee Williams also guest stars.

• "Encounter"—Lynda Day George becomes Elizabeth
Ashley for most of this episode that revolves around a mob wife telling secrets
when she goes into an alcohol rehab program.

• "Underwater"—This episode has the team on an
underwater hunt for a briefcase of jewels.

Disc Three • "Invasion"—Kevin
McCarthy stars in this complicated charade that has Los Angeles under the rule
of a fake communist military regime. It's all a plot to keep a microfilm marking
the spots where the US early warning detection system has gone down out of enemy
hands. A couple of unexpected bumps in the plan keeps this one quite
interesting.

• "Blues"—Barney is singing the blues in this
episode about a supposed murder caught on tape used to trap a corrupt record
producer. William Windom guest stars.

• "The Visitors"—Steve Forrest renounces his
syndicate ties when he's offered immortality by some very familiar looking
aliens.

• "Nerves"—This is my favorite episode of the
season because it stars Lynda's husband Christopher George (Rat Patrol)
as a homegrown terrorist who threatens to open a can of nerve gas if his brother
isn't released from jail. One problem, he doesn't know that the canister has a
leak, making it a virtual ticking time bomb.

Disc Four • "Run For the Money"—it's
off to the races because, as my friend says, every show has to have a boxing
episode and a horse race episode. Boring.

• "The Connection"—The IMF recreate an entire
island for this plot to trap a heroin dealer.

• "The Bride"—Casey is a drug-addicted, mail
order bride in this story that has James Gregory playing a syndicate accountant
who needs a new way to ship his cash overseas. Love the reveal on this one.

• "Stone Pillow"—Bradford Dillman plays the mark
who has the bright idea of blackmailing a mob boss. Smooth move.

Disc Five • "Image"—Warren Stevens
guests in this story that uses a fake psychic and tarot cards to get a list of
corrupt officials. Tricky.

• "Committed"—Lynda is Susan Howard in this
clever story about a syndicate boss trying to drive a woman insane so she can't
testify, but is that woman THE woman, or is it really Casey in disguise?

• "Bag Woman"—Casey takes the place of a
syndicate bagwoman but what she doesn't know is that her latest delivery is
rigged to explode. Yikes.

Disc Six • "Double Dead"—My second
favorite episode of the season is an unusual one in that Willy is captured by
the bad guys right off the bat, so the team has to work on rescuing him while
trying to shut down a dangerous loan sharking operation.

• "Casino"—The wonderful Jack Cassidy is the mark
in this episode that uses the old bait and switch in order to get a casino mob
boss in trouble with his boss, leaving him no option but to turn states evidence
against his former colleagues.

• "Trapped"—Game show icon Bert Convy guest stars
in this episode where Jim gets amnesia in the middle of a mission.

The DVD itself is nicely put together with great box art and clear
navigation screens. There are no chapter sub-menus and on a complex show like
this, that would have been nice. The video quality is very good, clear and
bright with only the occasional artifact. The audio is low in spots but it does
the job.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Paramount! Would it have killed you to add on a couple of special features?
Seriously, what's up with that?

Closing Statement

Mission: Impossible is one of those rare TV shows that you can jump in
during any season and still enjoy the ride. This season in particular is a good
choice, if you've never seen the show. The plots fit a little better into
today's viewing habits, more about the mob and less about the Cold War and many
of the guest faces will be familiar to the average TV viewer.

It is a true TV classic, a show that has been copied and parodied over and
over again. So your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to pick up
Mission: Impossible: The Sixth Season and enjoy every puzzling minute of
it. Good luck.

The Verdict

This court finds Mission: Impossible: The Sixth Season not guilty.
This verdict will self-destruct in five seconds.

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